


The Penultimate Confession

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Dialogue, Community: comment_fic, Confessions, Episode: s08e15 The One With The Birthing Video, F/M, Ficlet, Gen, Guilt, Introspection, POV Joey, Pining, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 03:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9365525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: Joey was in love, but like he had told Ross, he couldn't do anything about it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the comment-fic prompt "any, any, "I shouldn't be in love with you.":http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/785713.html?thread=101686321#t101686321
> 
> If that doesn't scream season 8 Joey/Rachel, I don't know what does. I decided to write the scene between Joey and Ross at the end of 8.15 (TOW The Birthing Video) because it's one of the few scenes about Joey and Rachel in season 8 that I haven't written about directly. Also, I thought Joey's perspective on that conversation would be interesting, and I wanted to show why he decided to tell Ross that the "woman from work" was actually Rachel.

Joey wished more than anything that he could stop feeling this way about Rachel.  
  
If he could have gone back in time, he would have never offered to take her on that date. At the time, he had thought it would be just a favor for a friend, like the time he gave Phoebe the perfect kiss so she could meet her goals for her 31st birthday. Doing that for Phoebe didn't lead to any weird feelings on his part.  
  
But as fate would have it, the date with Rachel had been the best date of Joey's life, even if he hadn't gotten to kiss her good night. And over the past few weeks, his feelings had deepened into something undeniable. He couldn't stop thinking about her, he couldn't sleep, he could barely eat, and he dreamed about starting a family with her. Phoebe's attempts to convince him it was just a crush and to later cheer him up with her friend's dog once Rachel moved out had been in vain.  
  
Joey was in love, but like he had told Ross, he couldn't do anything about it.  
  
When Ross had asked him if the "woman from work" might feel the same way about him, Joey couldn't help smiling when he said that sometimes, he thought maybe she could. But nothing could ever happen.  
  
Not only did Rachel have that complicated past with Ross, but now she was carrying Ross's child. Everyone in their group expected Ross and Rachel to end up together someday, and with them having a daughter together, it only seemed more inevitable than ever.  
  
Joey wouldn't want to be the guy who stood in the way of them becoming a family.  
  
As far as Joey knew, Ross wasn't still in love with Rachel. If he was, why would he have dated Mona? When Ross asked if the "guy from work" was a "good guy," Joey sincerely responded that he was the best. Joey treasured his friendship with Ross, and that was what made him feel so guilty about his growing feelings for Rachel. Having any kind of relationship with Rachel would break the rules of friendship Joey considered so important. But that didn't stop him from wanting to be with her so desperately that his chest actually hurt. Ross's next words were the ones that ultimately led Joey to say something just before Ross could leave the coffee house.  
  
_You have to go for it. How often does this happen to you, huh? You owe it to yourself._  
  
The truth was, this had never happened to him before. But Joey knew it wasn't as easy as Ross said. It shouldn't have happened at all, but it did, and now Joey didn't know what to do. He let out a deep sigh before he said the words that he knew would destroy his friendship with Ross and upend the life he had built since he first moved in with Chandler. He would probably need to leave the country afterwards, but he couldn't stop himself from revealing the secret he had kept bottled inside for far too long.  
  
"It's Rachel."


End file.
